04.05.2010: Ruthenian nation could be saved through collective legal and ethno-cultural work, which are based on history, law, and Ruthenian language, which existed in pre-Soviet and pre-Ukrainian times.

Live language is the one that bursts to life through literature and art like a volcano.

We, the Subcarpathian Ruthenians, have two literary streams flowing.
First one is a classic Ruthenian literature, represented by the immortal works of our masterminds Michail Manuil Olshavsky, Ioann Bradach, Ioann Kutka, Arseny Kotsak, Michail Luchkay, Ivan Fogorashiy, Alexander Duhnovich, Theodosius Zlotsky, Eumeny Sabov, Theodore Potushnyak
Second one is the literature, created today by such talented writers as Yuri Chory, Michail Kemeny, Ivan Sitar, Michail Chukhray, Vasily Molnar, Michail Belen, Ivan Petrovtsi, Roman Pishchalnikov and other authors of numerous Ruthenian books.

Ruthenians, engaged in scientific work, also work fruitfully, having created great dictionaries: ["Dialektary"] by Ivan Petrovtsi in 1993, six-volume "Dictionary of the Ruthenian Language", 2002-2009 by Yuri Chory, two-volume "Dictionary of Russian-Ruthenian", 2007 by Igor Kerch, "Russian-Ukrainian-Ruthenian dictionary" by Michail Almashi, Dimytry Sidor, Ivan Pop, "Dictionary of Transcarpathian dialect", 2008 by Ivan Sabadosh, "Dictionary- memorial, Dialectical Dictionary of Polyana village, of Maramorosh County", 2004 by Olexa Bevka, and many others.

Throughout the history of the formation and development of literary Ruthenian language were created twenty two grammars of the Ruthenian language, which gives evidence

that language was developing and improving, along with the spirit of our people - the medium of the language.

Among them, the greatest influence on Ruthenian literature and culture has had a "Grammar of the Russian (Ruthenian) Language", 1941, by Ivan Garaida, published in a circulation of over one and a half thousand copies within four years. In the Soviet era, there were also attempts to preserve the Ruthenian language and grammar, but such works became more successful after 1991.

In addition, at present, in our villages as well as in towns, our ancient Ruthenian language is still alive. For mutual communication, Ruthenians use exclusively maternal Ruthenian language in all its dialectical and grammatical depth.

This is the evidence that we, Ruthenians, in our "territory to the south of the Carpathians" have a powerful and reliable foundation for the revival, preservation and further development of our native language.

Almost 20 years of war of Ukrainian authorities with the Ruthenian culture was defeated, the people and their language are still alive today. However, the damage to the Ruthenian language and culture all the same was done, that makes us very serious about the task to revive and update the grammar of our language in the interests of the Ruthenian nation.

Herewith, political, financial and organizational problems stand out in the foreground. Their solution depends primarily on our initiative, and, of course, the social situation in the state in which we live today, and suffers the discrimination and ethnocide.

This means that we, the Ruthenian patriots, must work with redoubled energy. Moreover, it is very important today to work in peace and constructive interaction with each other.

The codification of the Ruthenian language has been carried out from 1991 to 2002, and it has not yet been completed. Considering that the codification process is permanent and long-term, it was decided to continue this work, using new materials and new literary works.

Certainly, in order to conduct this process as the scientific research, we, Ruthenians, need a higher education institution, which would systematize the accumulated material, and prepare professionals-teachers for the Ruthenian schools, without which a true renaissance of literary language cannot be successful.

Today, based on the results of research of Ivan Garayda and his predecessors, and works of a truly patriotic Ruthenian writers over the past 20 years, in the environment of Ukrainian legal nihilism, we are about to complete the codification of the Ruthenian language. Walking over this threshold is difficult, but necessary, especially as this process was actively opposed by the Ukrainian authorities and security services.

After the elections in Ukraine, a new government came to power. I hope that the new conditions will revive interaction of the Ruthenians with the public authorities and public institutions. Ruthenian nation will regain their legitimate rights and freedoms, including freedom to study their native language in schools and in the newly established Department of Ruthenian language and literature.

This should be done lawfully, competently and in accordance with international legislation, based on the "European Charter of regional languages and linguistic minorities".

Today a working group to codify the Ruthenian language includes Father Dimytry Sidor (Chairman), who was already working on this before, Ivan Petrovtsi (deputy chairman), the leading Ruthenian writers (over 15 people), philologists, and Ruthenian scientists (15 people).

It must be added that there are no experts in the world, who could replace our linguists in terms of a mastery of Ruthenian language, and possession of relevant knowledge. Linguists of other nationalities were also partly involved in this work.

The basis of our grammar would be the "Grammar of the Ruthenian language" of 1941, by Ivan Garayda, after scientific and practical additions and modern grammatical updates.

Ruthenian linguists have reached a consensus on the use of this particular grammar by

I. Garayda. They convincingly demonstrated that this Grammar embodies true Ruthenian language, which functioned until the arrival of the Ukrainian "liberators" on Soviet tanks, who subsequently destroyed Ruthenian schools, Ruthenian libraries, burned hundreds of thousands of Ruthenian documents in archives, and made taboo the Ruthenian language and nationality.

However, in spite of everything, the language of the Subcarpathian Ruthenians developed to date, while maintaining its uniqueness. Today it has acquired new forms and got enriched by borrowings from other languages. This led to the need for a new codification of the Ruthenian grammar, which has undergone a slight influence of neighbouring languages and modern Ukrainian language.
It should be noted that the Ukrainian language has also undergone some influence of the Ruthenian language.

Around the end of May, the next Ruthenian Congress will represent the 8-year work on completion of the codification of the Ruthenian language.

Ruthenian writer Ivan Petrovtsi

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